BRIAN BOOTH AND KEVIN STOUT; "Tales of the Tetons" (Jazzed 5) ** 1/2
In an interview with trombonist Brian Booth, he described the music on "Tales of the Tetons" as "happy jazz." Indeed, those two words really sum up what this CD is all about. It's a collection of good-natured, user-friendly, feel-good, straight-ahead charts.
The good news/bad news (depending on your taste) is that it's not particularly challenging, nor is it terribly innovative. It sounds like a couple of good friends jamming, albeit in a more polished way.
The upswing (no pun intended) is that Booth and saxophonist Kevin Stout have a good feel together and a good sound together. It's interesting to hear these two particular instruments combined, and the two are so unified in spirit and sound that they get an interesting, warm, seamless sound that sounds like a separate, third instrument. In addition to that, they're both respectable musicians — independently and together.
The CD is a collection of original tunes in traditional jazz styles (swing, jazz waltz, etc.), with a handful of Latin-style charts thrown in for good measure. There are a couple of drawbacks. The two get some nice variety, but each chart seems to land predictably in the middle of each style (except for the (real) moose calling at the beginning of track seven, which just doesn't swing). Also, the introduction to the opening track is, for lack of a better word, lame. It doesn't do justice to the rest of the album and sets up the listener for a much lower expectation than the album deserves.
"Tales of the Tetons" gets high marks for some good performances but garners low marks for individuality, creativity and for the album's first 30 seconds.
The album is available at www.jazzed5.com and www.cdbaby.com or by calling 800-289-6923.
E-mail: rcline@desnews.com